We Went To The Beach
by stormy.grace
Summary: When the Time Team finds themselves stranded in 1960, Lucy comes up with a way for them to pass the time and blow off some steam.


**Hello dear Clockblockers and anyone who may be reading this simply because you like me! It's been a while, I know, but I come bearing gifts in the form of a one shot inspired by a picture Goran shared on Instagram from the last day/night of filming season 2. Enjoy!**

We Went To The Beach

"I've never forgotten what you and your friends did for me in 2018." the newly elected President John F. Kennedy said, looking directly at Lucy as he expressed his gratitude.

Lucy smiled. "We're just happy we could help, then and now, Mr. President."

The team said their goodbyes, and left with a personal promise from the president that he would do everything he could to make sure Rittenhouse didn't gain too much power. They were all tired and worn out as they all piled into the car they had stolen upon arrival in 1960—a black 1958 Chevy Impala that had made Wyatt light up like a kid on Christmas morning—where Emma and her goons had tried to undermine the election in an attempt to keep Kennedy from becoming president. Luckily Rittenhouse hadn't won this battle.

"Let's go home." Wyatt said as he started the car, and ignored the fact that Lucy was settling in for a nap on Flynn's shoulder in the backseat. He wasn't crazy about the fact that the two of them were growing so close, but he couldn't deny that they were all at least a little worn out thanks to Rittenhouse. They all deserved as much rest as they could get, so he focused on the road and tried to shove the bond that had always existed between Lucy and Flynn out of his mind.

By the time they arrived at the landing site it was dark and Wyatt was the only one still awake. Rufus was leaning against the passenger side window with his mouth hanging open, while Flynn used his own window as a pillow behind Wyatt. Lucy was still using Flynn's shoulder as a pillow, and Jiya had snuggled up and fallen asleep on Lucy. If he ignored his feelings about Flynn and the relationship their former enemy now shared with Lucy it was actually a really sweet picture, and he was glad Jiya had snagged a camera during their initial "shopping trip". He snapped a couple of pictures because he knew the girls had started making scrapbooks to commemorate their missions, and hated to wake them—even Flynn deserved some decent rest after everything they'd been through. Unfortunately he had no choice. He couldn't carry them all to the time machine like a father carrying a sleeping child to bed, and even in the dark it was easy to see that they had a serious problem.

"Guys." he said, reaching over to give Rufus a shake. "Rufus, wake up."

Rufus snorted out of his nap. "Don't kill me! Are we there yet?"

"I'd asked what you were dreaming about, but we have more pressing concerns." Wyatt said as the others roused themselves in the backseat.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked as she nudge Jiya away so she could sit up.

"Looks like Rittenhouse got to the Lifeboat before we could." Wyatt said as they all began to pile out of the car.

"Oh no." Rufus groaned when he saw the damage that had been done to the time machine. "No, no, no! This can _not_ be happening!"

"I'm afraid it is." Flynn commented, offering a hand to help Lucy out of the car as Jiya crawled out the other side somewhat gracelessly.

"How long will it take to fix it?" Wyatt asked.

"I don't even know what they did to it yet." Rufus replied as he stood staring at the Lifeboat.

"It looks like they gutted it." Jiya said, staring in horror at the gruesome sight in front of them.

"This is so not good." Rufus complained. "First they kill me, and now this?"

"Technically they didn't kill you." Flynn reminded him. "Not in this timeline anyway."

"Really?" Rufus asked, turning to give Flynn a tired look of disbelief. "Rittenhouse dismembered our only way to get home, and you want to get technical about whether or not they killed me?"

Flynn shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Yeah, well, not helping."

"Well, it looks like we'll be here at least overnight." Wyatt said, taking charge of the situation as he was prone to do. "So let's split up. Lucy, Flynn, why don't you guys head back into town and see if you can get us a couple more rooms for the night and maybe some food. Rufus and Jiya can check out the damage to the Lifeboat, and I'll make sure there aren't anymore Rittenhouse goons lurking in the shadows."

Jiya gathered flashlights and a tool kit from the trunk so they could get to work as Rufus ventured over to get a better look at the damage, and Lucy and Flynn slid back into the car, waiting until Jiya had slammed the trunk shut before driving away.

"You know," Rufus said as he took a flashlight from Jiya and turned it on so he could see better. "I'm kind of surprised you're so cool with sending Lucy off for some alone time with Flynn."

"Yeah, well, he's part of the team now."

"So, you've finally decided to trust him?" Rufus inquired.

Wyatt shrugged. "As a team member, yeah. But mostly I just know he'd never intentionally hurt her."

"Still." Rufus said. "It's gotta suck for you knowing they're, I don't know, bonding I guess."

"Just fix the damn time machine."

Rufus gave him a sympathetic look and trained the beam of his flashlight on the Lifeboat. "Yeah, this is gonna take a few days at least."

"Great." Wyatt muttered.

"Too bad we can't call Flynn and Lucy and let them know we'll be here more than one night." Jiya added, wistfully longing for a cell phone.

"But it can be fixed, right?" Wyatt asked, essentially ignoring Jiya's comment.

"Yeah." Rufus said. "Looks like. Can't do anything tonight though."

"So, do we wait for Flynn and Lucy to come back, or do we start walking?" Jiya asked.

"We stay here and wait." Wyatt said. "They'll pass us on the road into town, but if we get to town before they head back we could end up spending hours looking for each other and Lucy'll panic thinking we've been kidnapped."

Jiya glanced over at the broken time machine. "At least we have shelter if it starts raining."

%%%

In order to procure shelter and food Flynn and Lucy had to pick a few pockets when they got back to town. Flynn was much more comfortable with the practice than Lucy—or appeared to be at least—but she understood that the ends justified the means and was able to squash any guilt she felt over robbing innocent people and breaking the law. It was simply part of the job, and because of it they were able to put gas in the stolen Impala's tank, rent a pair of rooms at a cheap motel, and swing by a fast food joint to pick up dinner for the whole team before heading back out to the landing site to pick the others up.

"You could've gotten three rooms, you know." Wyatt said as he slipped out of the room he was currently sharing with both Lucy and Flynn. "That way everyone can be comfortable, you know, now that the mission's over."

"We didn't have enough money for three rooms, gas, and food." she explained. "We'll probably have to dine and dash for breakfast tomorrow, but once we get some more cash feel free to get another room if you're not comfortable."

"I know we've been stuck with him a lot lately, but you barely know Flynn." Wyatt said, asking without asking why she had been so comfortable with not only sharing a room, but a bed with him the entire time they'd been here.

"I know him better than you think I do." Lucy replied. "Better than you do. I trust him, and I won't lie. I do feel comfortable around him. More than I ever thought I would, but I do."

"I get trusting him." Wyatt said. "But the rest of it...I don't know. I guess I just don't understand."

"I don't fully understand it either if I'm being honest, but whatever it is...it is." she said with a shrug as she turned and went back inside, leaving Wyatt alone with his thoughts.

%%%

The next morning Lucy woke up beside Flynn as she had every morning since they'd landed in 1960—because no matter how complicated and confusing her relationship with Flynn was, sharing a bed with him was far easier than sharing one with Wyatt under the circumstances—and found Wyatt's bed empty, nothing but a note on the pillow.

Curious, she slipped out of bed as quietly as possible in an attempt to avoid waking her chosen bed buddy, and picked up the note to investigate. It was addressed to her.

 _Lucy,_

 _Don't worry. I haven't been kidnapped or anything. I just can't share a room with you and Flynn anymore. It was one thing during the mission, safety in numbers and all that jazz, but now the mission's over and we don't know how long we'll be stuck here. I trust Flynn as a team member, and I know this situation between us is my fault. I want you to be happy, and if Flynn makes you happy, great. It's just hard for me to see the two of you together the way you have been lately. So I got another room to make things easier for all of us until we can get back home._

 _—Wyatt_

"What's wrong?" Flynn asked, alerting Lucy to the fact that she hadn't been as stealthy as she had thought. "Has Wyatt run away from home?"

Her first instinct was to brush it off as no big deal, but Flynn had become her confidant. He might make a few jokes to try to cheer her up, but he wouldn't judge. "He got another room. I guess he's just not comfortable with...whatever this is, and wanted some space now that we're relatively safe."

"Are you?" he asked. "Comfortable with whatever this is?"

"Yeah." she replied. "I don't fully understand it, but it doesn't bother me."

A tiny hint of a smile flashed across his face before he caught it and regained control. "Well, now that we each have our own beds maybe I can stretch out a little. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but you're a bit of a bed hog, Lucy Preston."

Lucy simply smiled and rolled her eyes.

%%%

"You know what we need?" Lucy said suddenly over breakfast a little later in the morning.

"A store with a big sign in the window that says 'Replacement time machine parts here' in big bold letters?" Rufus suggested, the response dripping with sarcasm and irritation directed at Rittenhouse.

"That would be super convenient." Lucy agreed. "But no. I was thinking more along the lines of a vacation."

"How?" Wyatt asked. "Somehow I don't think Emma's going to agree to a Christmas armistice."

"Probably not." Lucy agreed. "But we're stuck here for a little while, and I think it's safe to say we could all use a break. Am I wrong?"

No one argued.

"Then why don't we take one day to blow off some steam?" she continued. "We could...spend the day at the beach!"

"Do you wanna build a sandman?" Flynn teased in song.

"Funny." Rufus commented, dryly amused. "I never pegged you for a Disney kind of guy, Flynn."

"I had a five year old daughter, Rufus." Flynn reminded him. "I know _Frozen_. Unfortunately."

"Forgive me if I have a little trouble equating Disney Princess Dad Flynn with Snarky Terrorist-Through-Time Flynn." Rufus said, by way of apology.

"I only became a 'terrorist' because Rittenhouse took the Disney princesses away." Flynn said.

"Okay." Wyatt cut in as a few pairs of eyes turned toward them. "Maybe instead of talking about terrorists we go back to Lucy's beach idea before someone calls the FBI on us?"

"You do realize that we're friends with the newly elected president, right?" Flynn snarked.

"Okay, you guys." Lucy said, not even realizing that she had laid a calming hand on Flynn's arm to draw his attention. "That's enough."

"The beach, huh?" Flynn said, obediently changing the subject. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"I'm in." Jiya agreed easily.

"I'll pass." Rufus said. "I mean, it sounds great and all, but I'd rather spend the day working on the Lifeboat, see if I can get us home one day sooner. Preferably before Emma does some catastrophic thing that changes, well, everything. But you guys go have fun."

"Wyatt?" Lucy urged, all eyes on the conflicted soldier.

"Yeah, okay." he said with a sigh. "Unless Rufus needs some help."  
"Thanks, but I got it." Rufus assured him. "Go build a sandman with Flynn. Maybe you two can learn how to get along."

Wyatt rolled his eyes, and rose to let Lucy out of the booth so she could pretend she was going to the ladies' room and duck out the back instead. A few minutes later Jiya announced casually that she was going to check on Lucy and slipped out the back as well. Wyatt flagged the waitress down for the check as Rufus went to bring the car around, while Flynn insisted on paying the bill. Wyatt went to go check on the girls, and Flynn made some excuse about having left his wallet in the car, charmed the waitress into allowing him to go get it, and never returned to pay the bill.

%%%

After ducking out of the diner after breakfast Lucy had found a flier for a community clambake lying on the ground, and the team had spent the morning indulging in a shopping spree, picking up some new clothes and things Rufus would need to fix the Lifeboat, and picking a few pockets so they could dine without dashing at another restaurant. After lunch the girls had treated themselves to a nap in Rufus and Jiya's room while the men did whatever it was they did, and now Lucy and Jiya were chattering away like school girls while they got ready for the party.

"So, I know we're basically fighting a war, but how cool is it that playing dress up is part of our job?" Jiya asked.

"Only totally." Lucy replied, grinning. "This is the fun part of being a secret government operative."

Jiya smiled. "And, you know, if you ignore all the sucky living conditions, which actually aren't _that_ bad—though it would be nice if we had more than one bathroom—and take out all the near death and actual death experiences, and the evil cult that wants to kill us and totally reshape history to suit their selfish desires, this is all pretty cool."

"I know, right?" Lucy agreed. "I mean, who doesn't have some time period they wish they could go back and at least experience for a few days?"

"I bet this is like Comic Con for you." Jiya teased.

"You have no idea." Lucy gushed, and then paused to consider her statement. "Well, you know, if you take out the sucky living situation, the near death and actual death experiences, and the evil cult that wants to kill us and totally reshape history to suit their selfish desires."

They were giggling when Rufus knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Hey, um, I know it takes you guys longer to get ready and all, but are you, you know, ready yet?"

"We'll be out in a minute." Lucy assured him, and true to her word they emerged from the room in almost exactly a minute.

"You look lovely." Flynn said quietly in Lucy's ear as they left the hotel to pile into the car.

The excitement of getting to experience a real sixties clambake with no Rittenhouse strings attached had her a little giddy, and she could feel the hopefully unnoticeable blush color her cheeks as she smiled in response to the compliment and slid into the backseat with Wyatt and Jiya.

%%%

Rufus dropped them off, set a time to come pick them up, and drove off to see if he could make some progress on the Lifeboat while the rest of the team headed off to join the party. Lucy and Jiya ran ahead like excited children while Flynn and Wyatt lagged behind, walking along in what would seem to most like a fairly companionable silence.

"I care about her, Wyatt." Flynn said. "I have from the very beginning."

"Yeah, well, you've got a funny way of showing it." Wyatt replied.

"I don't deny that I've done some truly terrible things, but I never, _never_ intended to hurt her."

Wyatt stopped and looked up at Flynn in disbelief. "You're the reason she lost her sister, Flynn. You don't think that hurt her?"

"Technically Rittenhouse is the reason she lost her sister, and yes, I'm aware that it was a direct result of my own actions." Flynn replied. "But I never intended for that to happen. Lucy understands that."

"Does she?" Wyatt challenged.

"Yes." Flynn said. "We've talked about it at length more than once, but that's really none of your business, is it?"

"Protecting Lucy _is_ my business." Wyatt said.

"Lucy is more than capable of protecting herself." Flynn shot back. "Have you seen her with a gun? Emma would've been dead in Chinatown if Lucy hadn't run out of bullets, but just where do you get off judging me for the things I've done in an attempt to get my family back? You of all people should understand at least some of what I was feeling, or did you not convince Rufus to help you steal the Lifeboat so you could go back and save your own murdered wife?"

"I didn't kill anyone."

"That's not the way I heard it." Flynn taunted.

"That was an accident." Wyatt insisted.

"Accident or not, that man's death is on your hands." Flynn said. "And it didn't change anything, did it? Jessica was still dead when you came back, wasn't she?"

"What's your point, Flynn?" Wyatt demanded.

"My point is that we've both done bad things and made some serious mistakes." Flynn explained. "You're not that much better than I am, Wyatt, so why don't we just let Lucy make her own decisions? She's a big girl. I think she can handle it."

Wyatt opened his mouth to warn Flynn that if he hurt Lucy in any way there would be hell to pay, but Lucy herself ran over and interrupted the moment.

"Come on!" she urged. "You guys are missing all the fun!"

In her excitement she grabbed both of their hands and pulled them along behind her, leaving them no choice but to abandon their discussion and follow along like parents being dragged through Disneyland by their overexcited child.

%%%

"You and Jiya are like kids in a candy store." Flynn said as Lucy sat down beside him on one of several logs surrounding the bonfire.

"When's the last time any of us had any real fun since all of this started?" she asked, breathless from the game of tag she and Jiya had been playing with a bunch of actual kids, mostly high schoolers, one of whom had been flirting with Lucy all night.

"I've had a few enjoyable moments." Flynn said, watching as she picked up a stick and speared a marshmallow to roast over the fire.

"Yeah, but I'm talking about _real_ fun." Lucy argued, gesturing to the party going on around them. "This. Happy, carefree playtime."

"Fair point." Flynn conceded as he scanned the crowd and realized he had lost track of half of their team. "Where have Wyatt and Jiya run off too?"

"Taking a walk I think." Lucy replied as she pulled her perfectly browned marshmallow from the flames and allowed it to cool before pulling the gooey mess off the stick and popping it into her mouth. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." he said as he reached over without thinking and used his thumb to wipe a bit of gooey marshmallow off her chin.

"What were you about to say?" she asked. "In Chinatown. Before Wyatt came in. You said that you don't give a damn about him, and he's not why you're here."

"You asked why I'm here, and I was about to tell you—or try to—when Wyatt came in and interrupted us."

Lucy nodded. "Why are you here, Flynn? You could've run when we broke you out of prison. You could've disappeared. You could've stolen the Lifeboat and gone after Rittenhouse yourself, taken Rufus or Jiya hostage, and finished what you started. Or tried to at least. Why didn't you? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because of you." he admitted.

"Why?" she asked. "Because of the journal? Because I supposedly gave it to you? Because it said we'd end up working together? Because—"

"Because I care about you." he blurted, cutting her off before she could come up with another meaningless reason. "Because I want to protect you, Lucy. Because I want to be near you, to...to get to know you. We have a connection, and it's not because of the journal or because we're stuck in the bunker together. You feel it, don't you? The reason you hang out with me instead of Wyatt, the reason you chose to share a bed with me on this mission instead of Wyatt, the reason you're sitting here with me now instead of taking some moonlight stroll with Wyatt? There's something here, Lucy."

She was stunned by his answer even though she had suspected he had feelings for her since the beginning. She just hadn't expected him to admit it quite so emphatically, and she thought he might've kissed her if Rufus hadn't showed up at that moment.

They tracked down Wyatt and Jiya, and returned to the motel where Lucy slept in the bed Wyatt had abandoned because Flynn's admissions had shaken her. He was right. She didn't understand it, but there was a connection between them. It was almost as if she were drawn to him. It was different than what she'd felt for Wyatt, and she didn't know what to do about it.

A week later, after two trips in the Lifeboat, they were all home safe and sound, and Rittenhouse had them jumping right back into the Lifeboat to chase Emma and her goons to 1975, where they planned to erase Flynn from history like Agent Neville had wanted to do. Jiya piloted to give Rufus a break, and Lucy spent much of the trip trying to sort out her feelings regarding both Wyatt and Flynn. By the time they got back she'd made a decision.

She had spent the entire trip worried that Flynn wouldn't be there when they got back, that none of it would be there because if Flynn hadn't stolen the Mothership Agent Christopher wouldn't have any reason to put the team together in order to stop him. She may have her sister back, depending on exactly what Emma and her mother had done to ensure Amy never returned, but she would lose everything else she had come to love, and she wasn't willing to lose this family.

%%%

"Are you out of your mind?" Wyatt demanded, grabbing Lucy's arm as she headed for the bathroom after the debriefing, and swinging her around to face him. "What the hell was that?"

"I was doing our job."

"You were being reckless."

"I was trying to save Flynn!" she shouted.

"So was I, but at least I wasn't being stupid about it!" Wyatt shouted back. "Emma could've blown your head off!"

"I survived, didn't I?" she demanded, jerking her arm free.

"You got lucky." Wyatt argued. "What got into you, Lucy?"

Lucy sighed, worn out from the mission and wishing she could go back to the clambake in 1960. "I'm tired of Emma and Rittenhouse taking away the people I love."

"You love Flynn?" Wyatt asked, looking surprised and hurt.

"I don't know what I feel, but none of this would exist without him." she reminded him. "And he's right. There is a connection, or feelings, or... _something_ between us that I can't ignore. I don't want to hurt you, Wyatt, but I have to figure this thing with Flynn out, and I can't do that if he doesn't exist. So yeah, I got a little reckless. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

She stormed off, leaving Wyatt standing in the hallway wondering what he was supposed to do now.

%%%

"I suppose I should thank you for saving my life." Flynn said as he dropped onto the couch later that night, handing Lucy a well-deserved beer. "And my mother's."

"I like your mother." Lucy said, giving him a sideways glance as she took a sip. It wasn't her favorite, but it would do. "And how are we supposed to figure out what this is if you're not here?"

Flynn smiled and draped his arm over the back of the couch as she settled in with her head on his shoulder, the old television playing an equally old black and white Western that she had no real interest in.

%%%

 _Five years later..._

"Lucy!" Flynn called as he stepped through the back door and into the dining room whose décor had been inspired by their trips to the 1960s. "I'm home!"

The room smelled of the lavender scented cleaning products she favored and some spicy vegetarian dish she was working on in the kitchen, probably some recipe she'd picked up from the cooking classes she'd been taking—classes that were well worth the money they were spending on them even though finances were a little tight right now—and he couldn't figure out how she managed to find the time or energy to clean even part of the house and cook dinner after putting in a full day of trying to convince a bunch of high school students to care about history.

"Daddy!" a dark haired little girl exclaimed as she ran in, holding her arms out for a hug.

And on top of cooking and cleaning she was also wrangling two sweet little angels of her own after school. Flynn was reminded once again of how amazing his wife was and how lucky he was to have her as he scooped their three year old daughter up, and tickled her until she was squealing with laughter.

"You're scratchy." Lucia complained, pulling away from his day's worth of stubble when he tried to kiss her cheek.

"To scratchy for a kiss?" he asked, looking disappointed.

Lucia considered for a moment, and finally caved in, allowing her father to give her a kiss. "Only 'cause I lub you, Daddy."

Flynn smiled, and stole another kiss because he simply couldn't resist. "I lub you too, my sweet girl."

He set Lucia down and sent her off to play so he could greet her mother and get washed up for the evening meal. After spending all day working the ranch he had dreamed of for so long he was more than a little dirty.

Lucy was dancing at the stove with their nearly one year old son on her hip, making him laugh with the occasional dip while she cooked dinner for her family simply because it was something she enjoyed doing. Motown played over the system Rufus had installed, and Flynn couldn't imagine a better scene to come home to after a long day of making a living playing cowboy.

"Hello, my love." he said, greeting her with a kiss as Christopher let out a squeal of delight at the sight of him.

"Clearly someone's excited to see you." Lucy said as she passed the baby to her husband.

"I hope he's not the only one." Flynn said while Christopher patted his face and chattered nonsense words mixed with the occasional 'dada'.

Lucy smiled. "Of course not. Sounds like Cia was pretty happy to see you too."

"Your mama thinks she's funny." Flynn told his son, placing a kiss on the boy's forehead as Cia ran in with a pair of sparkly pink fairy wings and a plastic wand that should really have a volume button, turned him into a frog, and ran out again cackling like a wicked witch. "Should I be concerned that she wants to turn me into a frog?"

Lucy chuckled. "Probably not. She watched _The Princess and the Frog_ today, and she can't turn you back into a prince if she doesn't turn you into a frog first."

"Ah." Flynn said. "Her sister would've enjoyed that game."

"I'm sorry we couldn't get them back."

"Don't be." he said. "I would have loved to have them back, but I love this too."

Lucy smiled, and returned her attention to the stove so she didn't burn dinner as she was unfortunately prone to do. "So, I just got off the phone with Amy."

"And how is your lovely sister?" Flynn asked as he sat down at the little kitchen table with Christopher bouncing on his knee.

"She's wonderful." Lucy replied. "She and Wyatt are coming out for a visit in a few weeks while he's on leave, so we'll finally get to use that guest suite above the garage, _and_ she said she had some news she'd rather share in person. I think she's pregnant."

Flynn smiled. "I'm sure Win will enjoy being a big brother. And lucky for Wyatt I'm going to be rather busy while they're here. I'm sure he'll be happy to know he won't have to see much of me since he still hates me."

"Wyatt doesn't hate you." Lucy argued. "You may never be his favorite person, but he's moved on from hating you. And can you really blame him? You did kill Jessica?"

Flynn rolled his eyes, knowing she wasn't blaming him or judging him. She was simply stating the facts.

"She didn't give me any choice, Lucy." he reminded her. "It was either you or her, and I honestly think Wyatt would agree that I made the right choice under the circumstances. I hate that he had to lose her all over again, but at least they were able to save the baby."

"Can you believe this is the way our lives have turned out?" She asked, changing the subject. "After everything we've been through, somehow we all managed to find a happy ending."

"It's like a dream." Flynn said, and smiled when Cia climbed into his lap to kiss him and turn him back into her prince.

 **Fun Fact: My dear friend ArtistKurai and I decided to make a game out of the idea the picture inspired. One idea, two different writers who frequently think along the exact same lines. We decided to both write a story based on the same picture and idea and see what happens. Keep your eyes peeled for hers. I know it'll be very enjoyable, and I hope you enjoyed my take on the Time Team's day at the beach. ~SG**

 **P.S. Thank you Little Big Town for the lovely song that provided the title for this story!**


End file.
